Mine came on plane with some blow out, but that is inherant of most twins with high x dimensions.
I can't answer for how it reacted vs the stock ones because I bought the boat with the shorties on it.
I did drive another 29 & I think mine handled better. I also drove a 302 & it blew out commig on plane too. He ran 3 blades on his boat. We put my 4 blades on & it did the same thing, only the performance was better all-around.
My boat would not get on plane with 3 blades. So that is something to think about.
As far as Dock goes with his shorties I think he'll see a huge difference. I was looking at a 99-36 Outlaw in a friends shop the other day & I can't believe how low the x-dimension in on the 36 in 99. I'd bet the propshaft is 9" below the bottom of the boat!
Also, the guy I bought my drives off of had them on a 32 Outlaw & they are 3" shorties! It is all in propeller selection.
If you weren't so far away I would have let you try mine.
Because I'm a betting man, I'd bet that they would work wonders for you. Just my opinion. I've been wrong before.
Another random thought here is you should buy 2" shorties. You can always space them down in 1/4 or 1/2 increments. That is why I bought the 3"ers. They can always be spaced down.

I'm a betting man too, but hate to try them like I said and be giving someone a good deal. I agree its a propping issue afteryou put them on. Just the 302 is very similar to the 29 on the bottom so I figured yours would be a good comparison.

Jason,

I have a few questions on those drives:

1. Have you gotten rid of the drives yet or are they still on the market. If so what are you looking to get out of them?

2. Does anyone have any knowledge or info on what shorties would do for a 38 special. I have not done a lot of research on this subject and am not sure whether this would be the right step for this boat. But if it is a good thing, the timing could not be better as we have the motors and drives out of the boat right now and will be putting her back together in a couple of weeks.

Thanks,
John

The drives are sold.
Does the 38 have alot of bow rise? Shorties will decrease the leverage, but will increase the speed. To a point. There is a fine balance. If yo ucan trim the boat till it porposes, I'd say you can use some shorties.
How far below the bottom of the boat do the propshaft centers hang? That would be the best place to start. With that measurement I think we can make something happen.
By the way, check your PM box.

Irish,
Where have you been? Send me a PM and let me know whats up.

Jason catch me over at www.powerboatparty.com thats where I'm at now. I can't send you a PM here because I'm not a paying member. I was trying to catch up with you to see if you were going to chase Dock up to St.Clair this year. He's heading up June 21st to party with us for the weekend.:evilb: